


The Avengers

by LilacsAndLilies



Series: Recreating a Universe [6]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Canon Rewrite, Deaf Clint Barton, F/M, Gen, Mind Control, The Avengers Are Good Bros, mostly still canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:47:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27006814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilacsAndLilies/pseuds/LilacsAndLilies
Summary: A team, built by necessity, forged by adversity. No titan-sent aliens can stop them just yet.-An Avengers rewrite because they deserve better.-the sixth of many
Relationships: Avengers Team & Avengers Team, Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov, Loki & Thanos (Marvel), Peggy Carter & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark
Series: Recreating a Universe [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1876648
Comments: 7
Kudos: 17





	The Avengers

**Author's Note:**

> Any scenes that didn't get changed were omitted.

Loki stood in front of a large purple figure lounging in a throne-like chair. They met amongst the asteroids, the rubble, nothing but endless space for miles. No one would see or catch them here. 

The purple figure spoke, his voice loud and booming. “The Tesseract has awakened. It is present on a little world, a human one. They will try to wield its power. They do not know its workings as I do.” He gestured to Loki. “You will lead. And our force, our Chitauri, will follow. And the humans, what can they do but burn?”

“Do they need to burn, Thanos? I will get you your Tesseract, but I shall deal with the humans as I wish.” 

“They will not give it up, my child. They are stubborn in that way. Are you prepared to use force?” Thanos’s look bore into Loki.

“I will,” Loki said, standing up straight, hiding away any hesitation he felt at harming innocents. 

“Somehow, I do not think so.” Thanos lifted a spear with a bright blue light at the tip and pressed it to Loki’s chest. Loki’s eyes flashed blue and Thanos smirked.

“Go Loki. Achieve your destiny and return the space stone to me.” He handed the spear to Loki, who bowed and walked away.

* * *

Fury and Hill stepped out of the helicopter, the chaos of an evacuation brewing around them. Coulson briefed them on the situation as they rushed into the facility housing the tesseract.

Fury marched up to Dr. Selvig, who turned to face him. “Director.”

“Is there anything we know for certain?”

“The Tesseract is misbehaving.”

Fury stared at the doctor. “Is that supposed to be funny?”

“No, it's not funny at all. The Tesseract is not only active, she's... misbehaving.” Selvig gestured at the glowing blue cube and the intermittent flares it was emitting. 

“How soon until you pull the plug?”

“She's an energy source. If we turn off the power, she turns it back on. If she reaches peak level…” Selvig trailed off, not wanting to put the situation in words.

“We've prepared for this, doctor. Harnessing energy from space.”

“We don't have the harness. Our calculations are far from complete. Now she's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, low levels of gamma radiation.”

“ _ That _ can be harmful,” Fury scowled, thinking about reports of the Hulk. “Where's Barton?”

“The Hawk? Up in his nest, as usual.” He gestured up towards the ceiling, his eyes once again focused on the computer screen in front of him.

“Agent Barton, report.”

No one responded. Fury sighed and yelled louder. “Barton!” 

He heard some faint shuffling before a figure in black and dark purple jumped down from a ledge. The man in question fiddled with a device in his ear before turning to face Fury, a goofy smile on his face and a bandaid on his nose. “Hello Director.”

“I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things. Why didn’t you respond?”

“Well, I see better from a distance and I turned my hearing aid down because it was too loud in here.”

Fury sighed, preparing to address that later. “Are you seeing anything that might set this thing off?”

“ Nothing. No one did anything from this side, and Selvig is definitely clean.” 

“This side?”

Clint gave him a look. “Well yeah. The cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? Doors open from both sides,” He explained, as though this was obvious.

The cube sparked again before filling the room with a bright glowing light. The room shook and the light slowly dimmed to reveal Loki.

* * *

Fury stood, his radio in his hand. They had failed. The Tesseract was in the hands of Loki, who had managed to control the minds of several scientists and shield agents. Fury sighed and spoke into his radio. “As of right now… we are at war.”

The radio static cut out and Fury heard Coulson’s voice. “What do we do?”

That was the question, wasn’t it? What do we do? 

Fury’s mind led him back to Carol, to the strong woman he had befriended so many years ago. She would know what to do. This was her world. But he wasn’t allowed to disturb her, not when the plan he dedicated to her was still there. The Avengers Initiative.

That was what he tried to keep in mind as he talked to the council. As he fought and convinced them that this was what they needed. A group of people to fight this battle when he couldn’t.

* * *

Tony flew up from underwater. “Good to go on this end. The rest is up to you.”

Pepper was back in Stark Tower, talking over Tony’s headset. “You disconnected the transmission lines? Are we off the grid?”

“Stark Tower’s about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy.”

“Well, assuming the arc reactor takes over and it actually works,” Pepper quipped back.

“I assume. Light her up.” Tony flew up to face Stark Tower, watching in amazement and satisfaction as it lit up. 

“How does it look?”

“Like Christmas… but with more me.” Tony began to make his way back to the tower.

“We’ve got to go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press. I’m in DC tomorrow. I’m working on the zoning for the next three buildings.”

“Pep, you’re killing me. Remember, enjoy the moment.”

“Then get in here and I will.”

Tony stepped onto the balcony as his machines began to pull off his armor. Jarvis spoke up. “Sir, Agent Coulson of SHIELD is on the line.”

“I’m not in. I’m actually out.”

“Sir, I’m afraid he’s insisting.”

“Then tell him to wait, JARVIS. It’s family time.” Tony walked in to see Pepper and Peggy sitting inside, a holographic display in front of Pepper. 

“Levels are holding steady- I think.”

“Of course they are, I was directly involved. Which leads me to my next question. How does it feel to be a genius?” Tony moved to turn off the display.

Peggy smiled at Tony as he turned to face Pepper.

“Well, ah, I really wouldn’t know now would I?” She grinned and got up. 

“What do you mean? All this came from you.” Tony gestured around the room.

“No, all this came from that.” She jabbed a finger at the glowing light coming from his chest. 

“Give yourself some credit, please. Stark Tower is your baby. Give yourself…” He put a hand to his chin, “twelve percent of the credit.”

Peggy scolded him. “Don’t be rude Antonio, she deserves much more than twelve percent.”

“An argument can be made for fifteen.”

“Twelve percent? For my baby?” Pepper mocked him, repeating his words from earlier. 

“Well, I did do all the heavy lifting. Literally, I lifted the heavy things. And sorry, but the security snafu? That was on you.”

Peggy watched the couple bicker with a wistful expression on her face. “She will make you pay for that later.” 

Tony just grinned, grabbing 2 glasses of champagne and 1 of water, handing them to Peggy and Pepper respectively. “I know Aunt Peggy.” 

“Tell you what, Pep, Next building's gonna say 'Potts' on the tower.”

Pepper snorted. “On the lease.” 

They clinked their glasses together and began to drink, only to be interrupted by Jarvis. 

"Sir, the telephone. I'm afraid my protocols are being overwritten."

A voice filled the room. "Stark, we need to talk."

Tony rolled his eyes. "You have reached the life model decoy of Tony Stark, please leave a message."

"This is urgent."

The Elevator doors opened to reveal Agent Coulson. "Mr. Stark."

"Phil! Come in." Pepper put down her glass and walked over to the man. 

"Phil? Uh, his first name is Agent." 

"Come on in, we're celebrating." Pepper gestured at the wine glasses and the meal ready for the three of them.

Coulson looked around the room, his eyes soon catching a glimpse of Peggy. "Hello Ms. Carter. It's an honor to see you again. I- do you remember me?"

Tony moved to interrupt, but Peggy waved a hand at him. "Yes, I believe I do. You are close to Nicholas, right?

Coulson nodded, a grin on his face. 

"It is nice to see you again, Agent."

Coulsin looked back at Pepper, a pained expression on his face. "I can't stay."

"He can't stay," Tony repeated, already looking for ways to push him back into the elevator. 

Coulson pulled out a folder. "We need you to look this over. As soon as possible."

Tony pulled away from the folder. "I don't like to be handed things."

"That's alright." Pepper took the folder from Coulson’s hand and gave it to Tony, taking his wine glass in the process. 

"Official consulting hours are between eight and five every other Thursday."

"This isn't a consultation."

"Is this about The Avengers?" Pepper interjected, before backtracking at the look Coulson gave Tony. "Which I...I know nothing about."

Coulson just nodded. "This is bigger than before. We need you."

"We were doing something you know."

"This young man says it's important. You know you should help." Peggy gave him a look. 

Tony just sighed, grabbing the packet and flipping through the pages.

"Looks like you'll be busy tonight. I think I'll head to DC now instead." Pepper moved to grab her jacket. 

"Well, what if I wasn't?"

Pepper just leaned in to give him a kiss, whispering something in his ear.

Tony’s face lit up. "I'm going to start on this right now."

She smiled at him, before walking out with Phil, the two of them talking as she headed to the airport.

Tony turned to look at Peggy. "Let me help you to your room and I'll get started here."

"Don't worry about me Antonio. You have a long night ahead of you." She smiled and gave him a hug before heading to the elevator.

Tony sighed. "Yeah, I do."

* * *

Loki watched as the men around him rushed between labs and other rooms. Suddenly, the spear in his had started glowing. He once again found himself in front of Thanos.

Thanos' voice boomed in the emptiness of space. "How much longer will this take, child? The army I have prepared for you grow restless" 

"Let them goad themselves. I will lead them in a glorious battle."

"The battle shall be glorious indeed. But do not take too long and do not risk the tesseract. It is our main priority. Do not fail, son. I do not wish to bring pain upon you."

Loki bowed. "Yes, father," he murmured.

Thanos made a short gesture dismissing Loki and the god found himself back on Earth. He flinched, regaining a steely resolve to win.

Loki walked into the lab, overhearing a conversation between Selvig and Barton.

“Where did you find all these people?”

Clint grinned. “SHIELD has no shortage of enemies, and you tend to run into a lot of them on the streets.”

Selvig nodded. “This is wonderful. The Tesseract has shown me so much. It’s- it’s more than knowledge, it’s truth.”

Loki chose that moment to step out into the open. “I know. It, ah- it touches everyone differently. What did it show you, Agent Barton?”

“My next target,” Clint responded, an easy smile on his face. 

Selvig laughed. “That’s so cold, much like this tomb you found for us to work in.”

Clint glared at the scientist. “There are three levels of lead lined flooring between SHIELD and that Cube. That’s why I chose this place.”

“I see why Fury chose you to guard it,” Loki appreciated the thoughtful location.

“You’re still going to have to fight him. As long as he’s in the air, I can’t pin him down. And he’ll be putting together a team.”

“Are they a threat?”

Clint snorted. “To each other more than likely. But if Fury can get ’em on track, and he might, they could throw some noise our way.”

Loki hummed in response, circling around Clint. “You admire Fury.”

Clint shrugged. “He’s got a clear line of sight.” 

“Is that why you failed to kill him?”

“It might be. I was disoriented, and I’m not at my best with a gun.” He gestured towards the bow strapped to his back.

“I want to know everything you can tell me about this team of his. I would- test their mettle.”

Clint nodded. “If you’re set on making yourself known. I think I’ve got a couple plans.”

“Tell me what you need.”

Clint grinned.

* * *

They hauled Loki into the quinjet. Nat began to fly the plane while Steve and Tony stood in the back, Loki strapped up and restrained beside them. 

“I don’t like it,” Steve said, breaking the tense silence.

“What? Rock of Ages giving up so easily?” 

“I don’t remember it being that easy. This guy packs a wallop.”

Tony shrugged. “Still, you did well. It’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard a lot of good things about you.”

Steve looked at Tony, a curious look on his face. “Fury didn’t tell me he was calling you in.”

Tony scoffed. “Yeah, there’s a lot of things Fury doesn’t tell any of us.”

A strike of lightning fell around the quinjet. Loki leaned forward, looking around for the source.

“What’s the matter, scared of a little lightning?” Steve taunted the man.

“I’m not overly fond of what follows,” the god said slowly.

A crash jolted the jet forward. Steve looked out the window to see Thor hanging on to the jet from the side. Nat tried to shake him off while Steve and Tony both suited up. It was to no avail, as Thor entered the jet and grabbed Loki, before the two of them jumped out of the jet.

From the front, Nat yelled at both of them to stop Thor.

“Stark, we need a plan of attack.”

Tony just grinned, turning on his thrusters. “I have a plan. Attack!” He flew out of the jet. 

Steve moved towards a parachute. Nat called out to him. “I’d sit this one out, Cap. These guys come from legend, they’re basically Gods.”

Cap just smiled and continued to strap on the parachute. “There’s only one God ma’am, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t dress like that.” He took a step back and jumped out of the quinjet.

In the meanwhile, Thor and Loki landed on the ground. Loki groaned, sore from the force of impact. 

“Where is the Tesseract?” Thor growled, pushing at Loki.

“ I missed you too.”

“Do I look to be in a gaming mood? Tell me!”

Loki smirked. “Oh, you should thank me. With the Bifrost gone, how much dark energy did the All-Father have to muster to conjure you here? Your precious Earth.”

Thor dropped his hammer and fell at Loki’s feet. “I thought you dead.”

“Did you mourn?”

Thor sighed, his voice hoarse. “We all did. Our father-”

“Your father,” Loki interjected, unable to hide the bitterness in his voice. “He did tell you my true parentage, did he not?”

“We were raised together, we played together, we fought together. Do you remember none of that? I refuse to believe even this news could have twisted you so deeply. I no longer recognize your motives.” Thor had a solemn look on his face.

“I remember a shadow, living in the shade of your greatness. I remember you tossing me into an abyss. I who was and should be king!” Loki roared. 

“You never wanted to be king. You told me, even as a child, it was never your dream to rule. You would take the world I love as recompense for your imagined slights? The Earth is under my protection, my brother.”

A deep growl emanated from Loki. “I am not your brother.” He pushed past Thor and began to walk away. 

“I’ve seen worlds you’ve never known about. I have grown, Odinson, in my exile.” Loki spit out the last name like a curse. “I have seen the true power of the Tesseract, and when I wield it-”

“Who showed you this power? Who controls the would-be-king?”

Images of Thanos’ face and memories of his words flashed through Loki’s head. “My father. He would see me be the king I am.”

Thor faltered. “Father?” He shook his head, focusing on the matter at hand. “Not here. You give up the Tesseract; you give up this poisonous dream! You come home.”

Loki smirked. “I don’t have it.”

Thor marched over to Loki, his hammer in hand. “Loki…” His voice was threatening, but Loki simply continued to smile.

“You need the Cube to bring me home but I’ve sent it off and I know not where.”

“You listen well brother-” Thor was cut off by Iron Man flying past him, knocking Thor into the woods.

Loki laughed, “I’m listening?” 

He watched as Iron Man and Thor fought. Captain America soon joined the fray, and eventually, the three of them fell to the ground and collapsed. Loki smirked. It would have been so easy to get away in the chaos, but sadly, his plan needed him to stay. He watched as Thor finally allowed the two heroes to take Loki back to SHIELD, helping his plan fall into place.

* * *

Long after Fury’s discussion with Loki, Tony and Bruce found themselves in a lab together, working on trying to track the cube.

Steve walked in to see Tony poking Bruce in the side. “Are you nuts?”

“Jury’s out!” Tony laughed, turning to Bruce. “You really have got a lid on it, haven’t you? What’s your secret? Mellow jazz, bongo drums, huge bag of weed?”

“Is everything a joke to you? I heard that you were as smart, if not smarter than Howard, but I’m not seeing it.” 

“And I heard from aunt Peggy that you were kind and easy to be around, guess we were both wrong.”

Steve froze. “Peggy is your aunt?”

“My godmother. I just call her that.” 

Steve shook his head, trying to clear his mind of the distraction. “You could have threatened the life of everyone on this ship. No offense, Doc.” He directed the last statement at Bruce. 

“No, it’s alright. I wouldn’t have come aboard if I couldn’t handle pointy things.” Tony looked offended on Bruce’s behalf. Turning back to Tony, Steve said, “You need to focus on the problem, Mister Stark.”

“You think I’m not?” Tony glared. “Why did Fury call us in? Why now, why not before? What isn’t he telling us? I can’t do the equation unless I have all the variables.”

“You think Fury’s hiding something?”

“Like I said earlier, there’s a lot of things Fury doesn’t tell any of us. He’s a spy, it’s in his blood. You see it, right Banner?”

“Uh, ah, I just wanna finish my work here and-” He froze. 

“Doctor?”

“A warm light for all mankind, that was Loki’s jab at Fury about the Cube.” Steve nodded for Bruce to continue. “I think it was meant for Tony. Even if Barton didn’t tell Loki about the tower, it was still all over the news.”

“The Stark Tower? That big ugly-” Tony glared at him again and Steve paused. “ -building in New York?”

“It’s the only real progress in the clean energy industry. So, why didn’t SHIELD bring him in on the Tesseract project? What are they even doing in the energy business in the first place?”

Tony looked at Bruce, the dots connecting in his mind. “I should probably look into that as soon as my decryption program finishes breaking into all of SHIELD’s secure files. JARVIS has been running it since I hit the bridge. In a few hours I’ll know every dirty secret SHIELD has ever tried to hide.”

Steve scoffed, looking at Tony with amazement. “Yet you’re confused about why they didn’t want you around?”

“An intelligence organization that fears intelligence? Historically, not awesome.”

“I think Loki’s trying to wind us up. This is a man who means to start a war and if we don’t stay focused he’ll succeed. We have orders, we should follow them.”

“Never thought you were the one to follow orders. At least, that’s not what I heard.” 

Steve reeled at yet another casual reference to his old friends. The man in front of him was connected to so many people from his old life and Steve wanted to reach out and learn more so badly, but he pulled back. This wasn’t Howard, no matter how similar they looked. That much was clear. “Just find the Cube.” He turned on his heel and strode out the door.

Behind him, he could faintly hear Tony say, “I don’t know why my father and aunt both sung his praises. At least aunt Peggy had the courtesy to remind me that he was still a man. I don’t think he lives up to the expectations.” 

His heart clenched as he walked away.

* * *

Thor and Coulson walked through the corridor. “Thank you. It’s no accident that Loki took Erik Selvig. I dread what he plans for him once he’s done. Erik is a good man. Loki knew that.”

“He talks about you a lot. You changed his life. You changed everything around here.”

“They were better as they were. When I first came to earth, your people paid the price. And now again. In my youth I courted war.” 

Fury walked up, interrupting in the conversation. “War hasn’t started yet. You think you can make Loki tell us where the Tesseract is?”

“I do not know. Loki’s mind seems unsettled, like it is not him. He acts so different, I fear something has changed. It’s not just power he craves, it’s vengeance upon me. There’s no pain would prise his need from him.”

Fury scoffed. “A lot of guys think that, until the pain starts.”

“What are you asking me to do?” Thor looked at Fury, suspicion in his eyes. 

“I’m asking, what are you prepared to do?”

“Loki is a prisoner.”

“Then why do I feel like he’s the only person on this boat that wants to be here?”

* * *

Loki was pacing in the cell when Natasha walked up behind him. 

Loki smirked. “There’s not many people that can sneak up on me.”

“But you figured I’d come.”

“But of course. After. After whatever tortures Fury can concoct, you would appear as a friend, as a balm. And I would cooperate.”

Natasha growled. “I want to know what you’ve done to Agent Barton.”

“I’d say I’ve expanded his mind.”

“And once you’ve won. Once you’re king of the mountain. What happens to his mind?”

“Is this love, Agent Romanoff?”

“Love is for children. He is… like a brother to me. We have a bond which you clearly do not understand.”

Loke scowled. “Thor is not my brother.” 

"He feels for you the same as I do for Barton."

He frowned before taking on a calmer tone. “And what will you do if I vow to spare him?” Loki responded, his interest piqued.

“Not let you out,” Nat smirked. 

“Ah, no. But I like this. Your world is in the balance, and you bargain for one man?”

"Regimes fall everyday. I tend not to weep over that, I’m Russian." She paused. "Or I was." 

"And what are you now?"

"It’s really not that complicated. I got red in my ledger. I’d like to wipe it out."

"Can you? Can you wipe out that much red? Drakov’s daughter? Sao Paulo? The hospital fire? Barton told me everything. Your ledger is dripping, it’s gushing red, and you think saving a man no more virtuous than yourself will change anything? This is the basest sentimentality. I expected more ruthlessness from you, but even you prove to be controlled by your heart. This is a child, a prayer. Pathetic. You lie and kill in the service of liars and killers. You pretend to be separate, to have your own code, something that makes up for the horrors. But they are a part of you, and they will never go away." 

Loki slammed his fist against the glass, making Natasha jump back. "I won’t touch Barton! Not until I make him kill you. Slowly, intimately, in every way he knows you fear." Natasha stepped away, her eyes wide and her jaw slacked in horror. "And then he’ll wake just long enough to see his good work, and when he screams I’ll split his skull!" Nat looked terrified, turning away from Loki. "This is my bargain, you mewling quim!" 

Natasha started sobbing, her head hung low. She screamed at him, "You’re a monster!" 

Loki grinned menacingly. “Oh, no. You brought the monster.”

Natasha lifted her head and turned to face Loki, her face dry and her lips twitching into a smirk. “So, Banner? That’s your play.” She turned on her heel and walked out, leaving a dumbfounded Loki behind. 

She alerted Fury and headed towards the lab, walking in with Thor following soon behind her.

“Did you know about this?” Banner asked her, gesturing towards the tech in Steve’s hands.

She spoke calmly. “You wanna think about removing yourself from this environment, doctor?”

Bruce laughed. “I was in Calcutta, I was pretty well removed until you showed up.”

“Loki’s manipulating you.”

“And how is that anything different from what you’ve done?” Nat didn’t answer. “I’d like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction.”

A chuckle, filled to the brim with tired resignation, spilled from Fury’s lips. “Because of him.” He pointed at Thor. “Last year earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town. We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, out-gunned.”

“My people want nothing but peace with your planet.”

“But you’re not the only people out there, are you? And, you’re not the only threat. The world’s filling up with people who can’t be matched, they can’t be controlled.”

“Like you controlled the cube!” Steve pointed out, voices slowly raising to a shout.

“Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies. It is the signal to all the realms that the earth is ready for  _ a higher form of war _ . Loki threatens to use the good doctor here and all you did was put him in danger. I see only a trail of bad decisions.”

Fury tried to make his excuses. “You forced our hand! We had to come up with some-”

Tony scoffed, interrupting the director. “Nuclear deterrent! ’Cause that always calms everything right down.”

“Rich, coming from you. Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark?”

Steve began to rebuke and the group fell into chaos, shouting over one another. In the corner the scepter began to glow. A jet was fast approaching the carrier. 

“Yeah, big man in a suit of armor. Take that off, what are you?” Steve yelled at Tony.

“Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.” He ticked the list off on his fingers.

“I know guys with none of that who are worth ten of you.”

“Who? Like my asshole of a father?” 

“If you were even half the man your father was, we wouldn’t be arguing.”

“If you were even half the man he thought you were, I would say the same.”

“I’ve seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You’re not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you.”

“I think I would just cut the wire.”

Steve gave a sardonic laugh. “Always a way out. You know, you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero.”

“A hero, like you? You’re a laboratory experiment, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle. My father and my aunt made you who you are, no thanks to you.”

“Put on the suit, let’s go a few rounds.”

Across the room, the others continued to fight. Bruce threatened to turn into the Hulk when Steve noticed the scepter in his hand. “Doctor Banner, put down the scepter.”

Banner looked down, surprised, to see himself holding the scepter. At that point, the monitor made a noise, signaling the Tesseract had been located. Banner put the scepter back on the table and walked over to the monitor. Then they heard a thud as the ship shook. The engine exploded and they all went flying. 

Tony and Steve went to try and save the engine. Nat attempted to stop Bruce from turning into the Hulk, but failed. 

The Hulk ran towards her when Thor came out and stopped him. They both began to fight. “We’re not your enemies, Banner! Try to think! Listen to my voice, we are your friends!” Hulk roared and continued to fight. Thor eventually managed to throw him off when his attention split to a jet nearby that was sent to fight him. The fight ended with the Hulk plummeting to the Earth. Thor looked down, about to fly down and rescue the man, before looking back and remembering that his brother had gone free. He rushed back into the ship and towards Loki’s cage.

* * *

Tony flew up after fixing the engine and clearing all of the agents attacking himself and Cap. He landed and practically collapsed from exhaustion. Steve was behind him, his hands on his knees. 

“Bet you didn’t expect this much action after coming out of the ice.”

Steve let out a tired chuckle. “I definitely didn’t.” He took a deep breath, trying to get his bearings. “You know, Stark. I- I was wrong about you. If nothing else, what just happened showed me that you are a hero.”

“Thanks Cap. But you were right. I’m not a hero. I’m just trying to right my wrongs.” Tony exited the suit. “I- I was wrong earlier too. I still don’t think you’re quite the renaissance man my father thought you were, but maybe Aunt Peggy was on to something about you.”

“I’ll take that.”

* * *

"These were in Phil Coulson’s jacket. Guess he never did get you to sign them.We’re dead in the air up here. Our communications, location of the cube, Banner, Thor. I got nothing for you. Lost my one good eye. Think I had that coming." Fury began to give Steve and Tony a rundown. "Yes, we were going to build an arsenal with the Tesseract. I never put all my chips on that number, though, because I was playing something even riskier. There was an idea, Stark knows this," he gestured to the man before continuing, "called the Avengers Initiative. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people, see if they could become something more. See if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles that we never could. Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea, in heroes."

Tony exchanged a look with Steve, their previous conversation hanging heavy on both minds. "I don't know if this broken excuse for a team is enough," Tony sighed, excusing himself from the table.

* * *

Clint woke up, strapped to a hospital bed. He sat up, straining against the binds. He shook his head, looking up at Nat, who was sitting next to him. She held him down, saying something.

Clint tried to raise a hand to his ears. “My hearing aids, where are they?”

Nat handed the aids from the table, helping him out of the binds. He shook his hands, free from the restraints, before fitting in his hearing aids.

“Your aids got broken in the fight, those are new.”

Clint gave her a thankful look. “What happened?”

Nat gave him a rundown as they both talked about what to do next.

* * *

The battle ensued, the group coming together, motivated by Coulson and a need to stop Loki. Hulk pushed Loki into the tower. 

Loki roared. “ENOUGH! You are, all of you, beneath me! I AM A GOD, YOU DULL CREATURE, AND I WILL NOT BE BULLIED BY-”

Hulk interrupted him, slamming him against the ground, leaving him in the crushed ground, unable to move.

Loki squeezed his eyes, wincing. “What did I do?” His words were spaced out, taking on a horrified tone. “I-” He tried to move, but he was frozen in pain. 

Outside, the avengers continued to fight, stopping the Chitauri once and for all.

* * *

After the fight Thor walked over to Loki. “Brother, you lost, as I told you, you would. Now will you please stop this madness?”

Loki shook his head, his eyes wide. “Brother, you must believe me. This was not me. I was mind controlled the same as the agents and the scientist were.”

Thor gasped, looking at Loki, a serious expression on his face. “I knew this wasn’t you. Who did this to you?”

Loki choked out the words. “The Mad Titan. Thanos. He thinks of me as his child. He wants the Tesseract.”

“Then we must make sure he cannot get it.” Thor gave him a look of concern, before reaching an arm out, pulling him up.

* * *

After everyone had recovered from the battle, a meeting was called. Fury, Loki, Selvig, and all of the Avengers around a table. Thor told them what Loki said. Loki sat beside, nodding, his hands chained and his mouth bound shut.

Fury looked between the two gods. “You expect me to believe this?”

Thor chuckled. “I expect nothing from you director. You already promised me that I could take the Tesseract and Loki back to Asgard. Let us check his mental state there. I only warn you of the threat Thanos holds.” 

Fury nodded, taking note. “Thank you Thor.” He turned to face the entire table. “I need to say one more thing, something you will not be happy with me for. Loki did not pierce Coulson in the heart. He missed. Coulson is alive and recovering. He will be back to duty within a few months.”

The table broke out into shouting. “Why didn’t you tell us?” Tony stood up, yelling at Fury.

Fury remained calm. “His death was a rallying call you needed, the force to bring you together. He would have been happy to be that call for you.”

“That was not your choice to make.” Steve bit back.

Nat sat back in her chair, the faintest hint of a smile on her face. “Fury, you bastard.”

Fury smirked. “You already knew.”

Nat just nodded.

Fury called back everyone’s attention, quickly finishing up the meeting.

* * *

Once the meeting was up, everyone evacuated the room. Outside the door, Tony waited for Steve. “Rogers.”

Steve paused. “Stark.”

“If you ever wanted to come by and visit Peggy, just let me know.”

Steve took the peace offering for what it was. “Maybe I will.”

Tony smiled. “See you around Captain.”

They walked away from each other, and yet, the chasm between them seemed to grow smaller.

**Author's Note:**

> With this, Phase 1 is done! Phase 2 is currently in the works, and we'll be back soon! There will be a small break as we finish writing. 
> 
> Expect lots more changes with phase 2! Things are starting to ramp up here.


End file.
